A Greener Festivalhttp://www.agreenerfestival.com
Sat, 01 Aug 2015 10:34:25 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3ANOTHER PLANET?http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-209/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-209/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 07:39:09 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19456Ice in the Arctic staged a surprise revival in 2013, bucking the long-term trend of decline, according to the first analysis of the entire ice cap’s volume. The revival was the result of cooler temperatures that year and suggests that, if global warming was curbed, the Arctic might recover more rapidly than previously thought. The shrinking Arctic ice cap is one of the best known impacts of climate change. The indication that it could be reversible is rare good news for a region where climate change has driven up temperatures far faster than the global average. The extent of Arctic ice has shrunk by 40% since the late 1970s, when satellite measurements began. But getting comprehensive data on the thickness of the ice, rather than just its area, was difficult until the European Space Agency launched the Cryosat satellite in 2010.

Left: Average thickness of Arctic sea ice in spring as measured by CryoSat-2 between 2010 and 2015. Image: CPOM/ESA and more on the Guardian here.

But whatever the sea ice is, or isn’t, doing – 2015 is likely to be the hottest year on record. There have already been heatwaves in Spain and France, droughts in California and Portugal, thousands of deaths from the heat in India and forest fires in Alaska. Now figures from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveal that the average global temperatures in the first six months are the highest for 136 years and is 0.85C hotter than the average in the last century. One of the strongest El Nino’s for decades will just add to the warming. In California there is a new business – lawn painting – turning parched brown lawns back to a ‘natural’ green

An unprecedented coalition of the UK’s most eminent scientific, medical and engineering bodies says immediate action must be taken by governments to avert the worst impacts of climate change. But the joint communiqué, issued by 24 academic and professional institutions, also says that tackling global warming would drive economic progress, benefit the health of millions by cutting air pollution and improve access to energy, water and food. To have a reasonable chance of keeping warming below 2C, the internationally agreed danger limit, the world must end all emissions within the next few decades, the communiqué warns. The British Academy is one of the 24 institutions and its president, the climate economist Lord Nicholas Stern, said David Cameron and the UK had a special responsibility to lead the fight against climate change. “The UK led the world with both the modern scientific revolution and the industrial revolution, and must lead again now on the creation of a safer, cleaner and more prosperous world,” Stern said. Another institution involved is health research charity the Wellcome Trust, which has been the focus of a Guardian’s Keep it in the Ground campaign. The campaign has asked the charity to sell its substantial investments in fossil fuel companies. The Wellcome Trust acknowledges climate change is a great threat to health and the campaign argues that it is therefore “morally and financially misguided to invest in companies dedicated to finding and burning more oil, gas and coal.”

Amber Rudd MP

After news of the UK government’s swathe of changes to its environmental initiatives caused widespread negative comments, the Under Secretary of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said the drastic changes were needed to drive down consumer bills. Lord Nick Bourne, who is responsible for the Conservative Party’s energy efficiency policy, says last week’s decision to axe the Green Deal along with recent moves to restrict clean energy subsidies will mean “people are not paying bills that are totally unaffordable”. Speaking to edie.net, Bourne said: “This is a new Government and we are setting the scene. What we’ve done this week and last week is ensure bills will come down. We’re keen to strip some of these measures out… to have a simplified system which is subsidy-free.” And a week after the Conservative Government cut renewable energy subsidies and closed off key energy efficiency schemes, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has said “it cannot be left to one part of the political spectrum to dictate the solution” to climate change. In her first major speech on climate change since the election, Rudd said that she understands why people see tackling global warming as “cover for anti-growth, anti-capitalist, proto-socialism” but said “It was Margaret Thatcher who first put climate change on the international agenda. She [said] ‘the danger of global warming is real enough for us to make changes and sacrifices, so that we do not live at the expense of future generations.’ I agree.” Rudd reiterated that the Tories are committed to climate action, and that “our long-term economic plan goes hand in hand with a long-term plan for climate action”. Image.

Insurance giant Aviva has announced a target to invest £500m every year for five years in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The announcement of £2.5bn worth of investment will give the insurance giant carbon savings of 100,000 for these investments. Aviva’s plans were announced in a speech by chief executive Mark Wilson at the launch of an Aviva-commissioned report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, which investigates the economic risks of climate change. Aviva chief executive Mark Wilson said: “As an investor, we’re going to challenge fossil fuel companies to look longer term and to the low carbon economy. We will divest where we think a company is not making sufficient progress towards the engagement goals set.”

The UK solar industry remains on track to deliver power without subsidies by 2020, but clearer and more stable support from the Government will be needed in order to avoid a ‘cliff-edge’ of deployment. That’s the conclusion of a major new report from the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and consutancy firm KPMG, released just a day after the Tories unveiled shock proposals to end a key subsidy support scheme for solar energy developers.
“This report shows how close solar is to competing with traditional power generation, and with positive government decisions we can ensure the smooth transition from subsidy to business as usual,” said REA chief executive Dr Nina Skorupska.

The number of single-use plastic bags handed out by UK supermarkets has increased for the fifth year running to 8.5bn, figures show. The number is up by 200m on 2013 despite the average household already having 40 plastic bags stashed away, research from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found. In England, the number of single-use bags from supermarkets rose from 7.4bn in 2013 to just over 7.6bn, the statistics from waste reduction body Wrap revealed.

A farmer and beekeeper has revealed that 37 million bees dropped dead after other farms in Ontario, Canada sprayed neonictinoids on their GMO crops. Bees’ importance to the planet cannot be overstated. The tiny, bumbling bee is responsible for pollinating one-sixth of flowering plants in the world, and also about 400 different types of agricultural plants. In fact, it is estimated that just last year, the honey-producing pollinators helped provide over $19 billion worth of agricultural crops with their pollination services. Globally, they are responsible for helping to create a $300 billion revenue.

Argos is to become the first big UK retailer to offer customers the chance to trade-in their unwanted mobile handsets and tablets as part of a new recycling initiative.The service will allow customers to take older handsets and tablets to any of the firm’s 788 stores where they will be paid for the items in Argos vouchers. The items will then be refurbished and sold on, or recycled for parts. Argos has been supported in developing the take-back scheme by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which through the EU Life+ funded REBus project is seeking to help companies implement resource efficient business models to keep products in use for longer. UK householders are estimated to have around £1bn worth of electrical and electronic equipment in their homes which is no longer used, and two-thirds of those surveyed by WRAP said they would be willing to trade in their tech products with a reputable retailer.

Apple, Coca-Cola and Walmart are among 13 American multinationals that have put forward $140bn of new low-carbon investment in an announcement at the White House today (27 July). The 13 companies have expressed their support for US President Barack Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut six billion tonnes of carbon pollution by 2030 at a White House event hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry. The businesses have signed up to an American Business Act on Climate Pledge. Together, the companies are voicing strong support for the Paris climate change talks which will be held in December. The group aims to demonstrate a commitment to climate action, with collective investment of $140bn in low-carbon technologies and plans for more than 1,600MW of renewable energy. The companies launching the Climate Pledge include Alcoa, Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Cargill, Coca-Cola, GM, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, Pepsi-Co, UPS and Walmart.

And more from the USA: Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has promised to build more than 500 million solar panels by the end of her first term has US President. In an announcement on her campaign website yesterday (26 July), Clinton said climate change required the US to stand up and do more to invest in clean energy. Clinton said: “You don’t have to be a scientist to take on this urgent challenge that threatens us all. You just have to be willing to act.”

And the US has put steel in the water for what will be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. The Block Island project, developed by energy company Deepwater Wind, has begun construction of its first large-scale offshore wind facility. The landmark project will see the construction of a five-turbine, 30MW capacity wind farm in Rhode Island state waters. The turbines will rise 589ft above sea level, making them some of the tallest wind turbines in the world with the capability to withstand a ‘Category 3′ storm.

Zero Waste Scotland’s chief executive Iain Gulland has announced the launch of a new fund to boost remanufacturing innovation. The resource efficiency organisation opened a fund offering awards of up to £100,000 over two years to encourage remanufacturing for items such as commercial and industrial equipment, furniture and small electronics. “The remanufacturing sector presents a fantastic economic opportunity for Scotland,” said Gulland, “and Zero Waste Scotland is focused on getting the right infrastructure and supply of products and materials in place for Scotland to reap the rewards.”

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott may be more interested in economic growth than climate change but the fact that scientists say climate change is prompting man eating salt water crocodiles, cane toads and dengue fever carrying mosquitoes to move South down the gold coat must surely cause him some concern – maybe?

Greenpeace have released this rather telling image: Its TRUE!

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-209/feed/0The UK government just okayed a plan to sow bee-endangering seeds across the countryhttp://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/the-uk-government-just-okayed-a-plan-to-sow-bee-endangering-seeds-across-the-country/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/the-uk-government-just-okayed-a-plan-to-sow-bee-endangering-seeds-across-the-country/#commentsTue, 28 Jul 2015 17:32:25 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19465From the Sum of Us

Despite the fact that bee-endangering pesticides are banned in the EU, the UK government just gave the go-ahead to farmers to sow these toxic-coated seeds anyway. Any day now, Bayer and Syngenta’s toxic bee-hurting seeds could be sown — wreaking even more havoc on our bees.
Instead of listening to us, the Government listened to the intensive farming industry – ignoring the growing evidence of how dangerous these chemicals are to bees and other pollinators.

Hundreds of thousands of people have already signed petitions to the UK Government to stop harming our bees, and they’re feeling the sting. A massive public outcry could force the government to back down and protect bees.

Neonicotinoids or “neonics”, the world’s most widely used insecticide, were restricted in the EU in 2013 because they were found to be of ‘high acute risk’ to bees. They can still be used on some crops but not those that attract bees when they flower.

This plan to sow UK fields with treated bee-harming seeds flies in the face of science and facts.

The Government gagged its own pesticide advisers to try and stop campaigners from piling pressure on the government — showing that they are terrified of a massive public outcry. They haven’t even seen the half.

Companies like Bayer and their associates have been trying to overturn the neonics ban in the EU for years – using lawsuits and intimidation tactics to try and get their way. But we’ve been there at every step, fighting hard to make sure our precious pollinators aren’t stamped out by corporate greed.
Let’s swarm the UK Government with signatures now and make sure they protect bees once and for all.

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/the-uk-government-just-okayed-a-plan-to-sow-bee-endangering-seeds-across-the-country/feed/0ANOTHER PLANET?http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-208/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-208/#commentsFri, 24 Jul 2015 13:44:29 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19425The warming of the oceans due to climate change is now unstoppable after record temperatures last year, bringing additional sea-level rise, and raising the risks of severe storms, US government climate scientists have said. The annual State of the Climate in 2014 report, based on research from 413 scientists from 58 countries, found record warming on the surface and upper levels of the oceans, especially in the North Pacific, in line with earlier findings of 2014 as the hottest year on record. Global sea-level also reached a record high, with the expansion of those warming waters, keeping pace with the 3.2 ± 0.4 mm per year trend in sea level growth over the past two decades, the report said.

Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger has said global warming is a ‘battle in the real world’ that’s bigger than any movie, at the first summit of conscience for the climate in Paris. Schwarzenegger has been chosen by the French government to join Nobel prizewinners, philosophers, UN secretary generals, spiritual leaders and theologians to make the moral case for the world to act urgently on climate change. Talking at the world’s first summit of conscience for the climate on Tuesday – ahead of the crucial UN climate change meeting in the city in December – the Terminator star and former California governor declared the science debate over, saying planetary catastrophe could only be avoided with ethical action saying “I’ve starred in a lot of science fiction movies and, let me tell you something, climate change is not science fiction, this is a battle in the real world, it is impacting us right now.”

Britain’s first low cost ‘energy positive’ house, which can generate more electricity than its occupants will use, opens on Thursday despite George Osborne axing plans to make housebuilders meet tough low carbon housing targets from next year. The modest three-bedroom house built in just 16 weeks on an industrial estate outside Bridgend in Wales cost just £125,000 to build and, said its Cardiff University designers, will let occupants use the sun to pay the rent. Using batteries to store the electricity which it generates from the solar panels that function as the roof, and having massive amounts of insulation to reduce energy use in winter months, it should be able to export electricity to the national grid for eight months of the year. For every £100 spent on electricity used, it should be able to generate £175 in electricity exports, said Professor Phil Jones, whose team from the Welsh School of Architecture designed the house specifically to meet the low carbon housing targets set by the Labour government in 2006. More on the Guardian here.

The UK government has gagged its own pesticide advisers, after they refused to back an application by the National Farmers Union to lift a ban on bee-harming chemicals. The gag is intended to prevent campaigners lobbying ministers on the issue, according to documents seen by the Guardian. Neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used insecticide, were banned in the European Union in 2013. Substantial scientific evidence indicates that the nerve agents cause serious harm to bees, whose pollination is vital for many crops. The National Farmers Union says oil seed rape is becoming impossible to grow without the pesticides and applied for an emergency lifting of the ban on two neonicotinoids.

A best-selling herbicide that the World Health Organisation suspects causes cancer could get a new lease of life in Europe after being deemed safe by a key assessment based largely on classified industry reports. A decision on whether to extend the license for glyphosate’s use in Europe is pending, but earlier this year, it was deemed “probably carcinogenic to humans” in a preliminary report from the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The full report is due for release imminently. More here.

Nearly 9,500 people die early each year in London due to long-term exposure to air pollution, more than twice as many as previously thought, according to new research. The premature deaths are due to two key pollutants, fine particulates known as PM2.5s and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide (NO2), according to a study carried out by researchers at King’s College London.

The first conclusive sighting of a pine marten in England in over 100 years suggests that the elusive domestic cat-sized member of the stoat and weasel family may have been living in the Shropshire hills for years. Amateur wildlife recorder Dave Pearce took two photographs of the dark brown creature thought to be extinct, in a wood in south west Shropshire last week. The photographic evidence has now been verified by Stuart Edmunds, chair of the Shropshire mammal group.

Britain should drop its focus on nuclear power and carbon capture and storage (CCS) and refocus spending on optimising renewables and energy efficiency, a leading academic has urged. Catherine Mitchell – a professor of energy policy at Exeter University a lead author on the IPCC’s Fifth Synthesis report – said: “I think the current energy policy in place is simply not credible.” Speaking at an event in Westminster, titled ‘Renewable energy: How far can Britain go?’, Mitchell said: “We may have one or two new nuclear plants, we may not. Even if we do, it doesn’t actually matter, because it does very little for carbon reductions. There may also be CCS being talked about – but even if CCS comes out, there’s really no space to put the carbon. “The only thing in town is renewable energy and energy efficiency. And it’s because those are the only things in town that we need to take stock as a country, and make sure that things are in place to be the building blocks of the future.”

Developers of a new biomass plant in Sheffield have secured £30m funding from the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) and fund managers Equitix. The funding will see the construction of a 6.5MW capacity combined heat and power (CHP) facility in the Holbrook area of Sheffield, with the potential to heat more than 6,700 local properties. The scheme received £14.6m from the fund Energy Savings Investments, in which GIB is an investor, and £15m private capital from the Equitix Energy Efficiency Fund.

The former US vice-president and climate champion Al Gore has made a rare criticism of Barack Obama as Royal Dutch Shell prepares to drill an exploratory well in the Arctic Ocean, denouncing the venture as “insane” and calling for a ban on all oil and gas activity in the polar region. With Shell planning to begin drilling in the oil-rich Chukchi Sea within days, Gore said in an interview with the Guardian that Obama was wrong to ever allow drilling in the Arctic. It was the only real point of criticism from Gore of Obama’s efforts to fight climate change, at home and through a global deal to be negotiated in Paris at the end of the year. “I think Arctic drilling is insane. I think that countries around the world would be very well advised to put restrictions on drilling for oil in the Arctic ocean,” Gore told the Guardian in Toronto, where he was passing on his techniques for talking about the climate crisis to 500 new recruits from his Climate Reality Project.

Andy Gotts has photographed almost 60 celebrities wearing the Save the Arctic T-shirt designed by fashion icon and activist Dame VivienneWestwood, in a project that has taken 18 months.

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-208/feed/0UK Government thinks green is a ‘has been’http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/uk-government-thinks-green-is-a-has-been/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/uk-government-thinks-green-is-a-has-been/#commentsThu, 23 Jul 2015 21:48:14 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19440The UK government has announced it is to cease funding for the Green Deal, spelling the end for its flagship energy household efficiency programme. The scheme offers cashbacks and incentives on such things as double-glazing, insulation and boilers. The Department for Energy and Climate Change said it took the decision to protect taxpayers, citing low take-up and concerns about industry standards. Labour said ministers’ approach to energy efficiency had been a “failure”. The Department for Energy and Climate Change (Decc) said it would work with the building industry and consumer groups to agree a new “value-for-money approach”. Future schemes needed to provide better value for money, and support the goal of insulating one million more homes and the government’s commitment to tackle fuel poverty, it said. The announcement comes a day after the government said it would be consulting on whether to end subsidies for many new solar farms.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said it was to consult on closing support for new solar farms under 25 acres in size by April next year. It argued that scrapping the renewables obligation scheme for smaller projects would help bring down the cost of solar subsidies to bills, currently running at £3 per household. Other measures included removing the guaranteed level of subsidy for biomass conversions. Critics rounded on the proposals, suggesting they would hit investment in clean energy and jobs. But the DECC said: “Reducing energy bills for hard working British families and businesses and meeting climate goals in the most cost effective way are Government priorities.

Announcing an end to future funding of the Green Deal Finance Company, which delivers the scheme, Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd said: “We are on the side of hardworking families and businesses – which is why we cannot continue to fund the Green Deal.”

The Grind on the island of Vagur at Borg Beach is underway. On this same beach on June 10th they viciously slaughtered 110 whales and now they want to take between 100 and 200 more. It does not look like the whales can escape. The BRIGITTE BARDOT has been stopped by the Danish Navy.Two Sea Shepherd crew from the BARDOT have been arrested by the Danish Navy. All the courage and determination in the world cannot overcome the power of a Naval Frigate and an armed patrol ship. The police are on the beaches protecting the armed mob of whale killers from any acts of kindness that might occur.

What is about to happen in a few minutes is a disgrace to humanity, to the Faroe Islands and to the nation of Denmark and every Danish citizen. It is a disgrace to Europe and is a blatant violation of European Union law.

Within minutes the screams of the whales will pierce the air, the shouts of sadistic joy from the killers will attempt to drown them out. The knives will stab, the lances will penetrate innocent flesh and the entire families of whales will be extinguished in pools of hot blood as calves die alongside their mothers and mothers watch in horror as their children are mutilated in a human orgy of slaughter.
Is this what you are all about Denmark. Is this the image you wish to present to the world. The red on your flag represents the blood of innocent, self aware, intelligent sentient beings. And they are dying for what? The Faroese do not need to eat their flesh. They are dying in the name of archaic traditions that no longer have any place in the 21st Century, they are dying so that the men of the Faroe Islands can validate their existence in a circus of cruelty and sadistic pleasure.

SeaWorld has submitted an application to the California Coastal Commission to build new artificial tanks, and we need your help to speak out against it.

SeaWorld claims that its Blue World Project will help orcas, but we know that people like you won’t be fooled by this desperate, drop-in-the-bucket move. In the wild, orcas dive to up to 1,000 feet. The tank expansion that SeaWorld has announced will have a depth of only 50 feet. And because the tank will be only 350 feet long, orcas would have to swim more than 1,500 lengths back and forth per day to approximate the 100 miles a day they may naturally travel in the ocean. This project will not provide anything close to truly “dynamic opportunities” that will “support the whales’ broad range of behaviors and provide choices that can challenge them both physically and mentally,” as the company claims. This project is window-dressing intended to mislead the public into thinking that the orcas are no longer suffering.

If SeaWorld really wants to improve its image, it should spend its money on innovative animal-free exhibits that will truly wow people and on coastal sanctuaries where marine mammals can feel and experience the ocean, hear their families, and perhaps one day be reunited with them. It shouldn’t build a slightly bigger orca prison.

The amazing Arcadia Spectacular Spider – already a major feature at Glastonbury and now with its own show planned in Bristol on the 4th and 5th September, has got even greener. The Spider – which is constructed out of reclaimed, salvaged and upcycled materials, now runs on bio fuels and the shows in September are part of Bristol’s celebrations at being the European Green Capital in 2015.

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/the-arcadia-spider-goes-green/feed/0ANOTHER PLANET?http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-207/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-207/#commentsThu, 16 Jul 2015 10:59:31 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19394The UK government has quietly dropped rather sensible plans to ensure new homes are ‘zero carbon’ rated – well insulated and with heat pumps and solar panels to reduce homeowners reliance on fossil fuels. The change in direction also cancels plans to require builders to offset carbon dioxide emissions by paying for reductions elsewhere – eg with LED street lighting to reduce electricity use. The move will save an average of £2,500 per build but will, according to the UK Green Building Council, raise energy bills in new homes.

China has been hit by its worst typhoon in decades. Typhoon Chan-hom slammed ashore with winds of up to 160 kilometres (100 miles) per hour near Zhoushan, a city east of the port of Ningbo in Zhejiang province. It dumped more than 100 millimetres (4 inches) of rain — about a month’s average in less than 24 hours, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported. Strong winds and heavy rainfall submerged roads, felled trees and forced the evacuation of 1.1 million people.

Ricky Gervais is calling for a conservation officer who was suspended for refusing to kill two bear cubs to be reinstated. Bryce Casavant was suspended without pay after he refused to kill two young bears who were left orphaned when their mother was killed for raiding a freezer full of meat at a mobile home in British Columbia, Canada. Rather than kill the cubs, the conservation officer took them to a veterinary hospital and they are now at a wildlife recovery centre, CBC reports.

An “induced implosion” of the fossil fuel industry must take place for there to be any chance of avoiding dangerous global warming, according to one of the world’s most influential climate scientists. professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, an adviser to the German government and Pope Francis, said on Friday: “In the end it is a moral decision. Do you want to be part of the generation that screwed up the planet for the next 1,000 years? I don’t think we should make that decision.” Schellnhuber was speaking at a major science conference in Paris, taking place before a crunch UN summit in December, also in the city, at which nations must seal a deal on global warming. World leaders were sent a stark message in the communique issued by the conference, which warned that the opportunity to avoid disaster is rapidly diminishing. Laurence Tubiana, France’s climate change ambassador, said the aim of the UN summit is to send a signal that the transition from coal, oil and gas to a low-carbon economy is inevitable. If the aim is achieved, Tubiana told the Guardian, “you will see a massive acceleration [to a greener economy], particularly on the investment side in the next five years”. More on the Guardian website here.

Oil drilling in the home of the last mountain gorillas could be put on hold after The Congo’s new minister for the environment, Bienbenu Liyota, said he was opposed to drilling in the Virunga National Park, a reversal of previous policy. Oil exploration is currently banned within the park but the Government had planned to re-draw its boundaries. The British company Soco International has a exploration permit for the Park but has been accused by Global Witness of attempting to intimidate, assault and torture opponents. The DRC Government will now investigate these claims. The Times says Soco hired its own lawyers, Clifford Chance, to investigate the claims, who said the claims were ‘substantially inaccurate’. Why should we care? Take a look at this film by Damian Aspinall when he reunites with the now 10 year old Kwibi and his family in Gabon.

Long-haul flights are getting longer due to stronger winds caused by global warming, according to a study.
Scientists linked a small increase in return-journey times of long-haul flights with an increase in the variation of the jet stream, the high altitude air that flows from west to east. Just one minute’s extra flight time would mean jets spend approximately 300,000 hours longer per year burning roughly a billion additional gallons of jet fuel, they said. Passenger jet fuel already accounts for 3.5 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions but changes in wind speeds could lead to more fuel being used, more carbon dioxide emissions and an increase in global warming.

According to the new UN report, major changes are needed in our food, agriculture and trade systems, with a shift toward local small-scale farmers and food systems recommended. Diversity of farms, reducing the use of fertilizer and other changes are desperately needed according to the report, which was highlighted in this article from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. It also said that global trade rules should be reformed in order to work toward these ends, which is unfortunately the opposite of what mega-trade deals like the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the US-EU Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are seeking to accomplish. The Institute noted that these pending deals are “primarily designed to strengthen the hold of multinational corporate and financial firms on the global economy…” rather than the reflect the urgent need for a shift in agriculture described in the new report. More here.

The renewable energy sector is in a state of dismay following the new Government’s decision to remove the exemption for renewables under the Climate Change Levy (CCL) in the new UK Budget. The Summer Budget saw Chancellor George Osborne drop the CCL renewable energy exemption bomb: a move branded a ‘punitive measure’ which will leave renewable electricity generation eligible for the Levy. The CCL – which has been in place since 2001 – allowed businesses and public sector bodies to source renewable energy under the exemption, valued at £5.50 per MWh. But when these changes come into effect on 1 August, this exemption will disappear, leaving many new schemes hanging in the balance. Edie.net comments that oil and gas will continue to receive tax relief – at a cost to the Government of £10m in 2020/21 – with the Tories set to expand North Sea investment.

Climate change should be treated with the same gravity as the threat of nuclear war, a major new report from the UK Foreign Office has warned.
The report, Climate change: A risk assessment, warns policy-makers of the catastrophic effects of the worst-case scenarios of climate change, urging them to prepare for the worst. Writing in the report foreword, the minister of state for the Commonwealth and Foreign Office, Baroness Joyce Anelay, said: “In the past, when assessing the risk of climate change, we have tended to take an approach that is, perhaps, too narrow – or incomplete. “In public debate, we have sometimes treated it as an issue of prediction, as if it were a long-term weather forecast. Or as purely a question of economics – as if the whole of the threat could be accurately quantified by putting numbers into a calculator. Often, too, we have not fully assessed the indirect or systemic risks, such as those affecting international security.” Baroness Anelay added that a holistic approach was needed, adding: “It is an approach that applies as much to climate change as to, for example, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.”

A new report from the London Assembly Environment Committee has warned Boris Johnson that he needs to accelerate his air quality programs to comply with EU and UK laws. The report claims that diesel vehicles are to blame for much of London’s air pollution problems and must be banned from the centre of the capital as soon as 2020. Official estimates suggest that over 3,000 deaths each year in London are attributable to air pollution, while the UK Supreme Court recently ordered the Government to tackle the dangerously high levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) found in the UK. Diesel exhaust fumes account for around 40% of London’s emissions of nitrogen oxides.

Amazon is to construct a 208MW wind farm which will become the first utility-scale wind farm in the US state of North Carolina. The new wind farm for Amazon Web Services will be constructed with energy company Iberdrola Renewables and will generate around 670,000 MWh of wind energy per year, starting in December 2016. On an unusually windy day, Denmark found itself producing 116% of its national electricity needs from wind turbines yesterday evening. By 3am on Friday, when electricity demand dropped, that figure had risen to 140%. Interconnectors allowed 80% of the power surplus to be shared equally between Germany and Norway, which can store it in hydropower systems for use later. Sweden took the remaining fifth of excess power.

The Church of England has adopted a new climate change policy which will see it divest from coal mining and oil from tar sands. The Church’s governing body, the General Synod, voted overwhelmingly to support the new policy yesterday which will set new guidelines for the Church’s investing bodies. The Church plans to divest from companies deriving more than 10% of their revenue from the extraction of thermal coal and tar sands oil.

Global governments must work together to cut short-lived climate pollutants as well as tackling long-lived CO2 emissions, according to a report published in the journal Nature Climate Change published today. Short-lived pollutants – which include black carbon, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and methane – are having a dramatic, short-term effect on global temperatures and air pollution, the report claims. It argues that prioritising cuts to short-lived pollutants is necessary to limit climate change in the short-term to less than 2OC.

The European Parliament has endorsed plans to reform the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The Parliament voted 495 to 198 in favour of measures intended to reduce the surplus of carbon credits available to ensure the correct price of carbon – bringing the move forward to 2019, two years earlier than originally planned. MEPs argued a glut of around two billion excess carbon allowances had accrued, undermining the EU’s emissions trading system. MEPs have also passed a European circular economy report calling for a 30% increase in resource productivity by 2030, which could add nearly two million green jobs. The resolution supported a report from the European Parliament’s environment commission which called on the European Commission to produce binding waste reduction targets by the end of 2015. But the UK has rubbished the idea of Europe setting new targets for recycling, despite warnings from the EU’s environment commissioner that such measures should be non-negotiable. Goals for recycling household waste are expected to give teeth to an upcoming EU ‘circular economy’ package, but a paper on the UK’s position, seen by the Guardian, argues that any new targets should be put on ice.

The insurance industry must be utilized to protect citizens at risk from climate change, a new report from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has claimed. The report, titled Insurance regulation for sustainable development, analysed the role of the insurance industry in protecting societies against climate risk. It found that, as well as providing financial protection, insurers could encourage people to better protect themselves from climate risks through incentives in insurance contracts. The industry also has a unique expertise in identifying and mitigating risk, argued the report, while the global nature of insurance markets would help to spread the financial impact of climate disasters, especially for poor regions.

David Cameron has postponed plans to water down the foxhunting ban after the SNP vowed to vote against the changes. The vote on the changes, which would have lifted the two-hound limit on hunting foxes for vermin control purposes, was due to take place on Wednesday 15th July. Despite the changes only affecting hunting in England and Wales, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon today confirmed her party’s MPs would vote against the amendment. The 56 SNP MPs, together with Labour and a sizeable number of Tories opposed to foxhunting, would likely have led to the measure being defeated. Chris Pitt, Deputy Director of Campaigns at The League Against Cruel Sports, told The Huffington Post UK: “In one sense this is good news because we’ve got a temporary reprieve for the foxes as the Government realise they weren’t going to win.

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-207/feed/0ANOTHER PLANET?http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-206/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/another-planet-206/#commentsSat, 11 Jul 2015 17:53:57 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19356Selfridges is to rid its stores of all single-use plastic water bottles as part of a campaign to reduce pollution of the oceans. Instead, the department store is encouraging customers to bring their own water bottles to fill at a newly-opened traditional drinking fountain in its London food hall. The initiative, part of an ongoing partnership with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Marine Reserves Coalition (MRC), aims to reduce plastic waste in the oceans and help facilitate a change in behaviour around the use of plastic. Selfridges said it sold around 400,000 single-use plastic water bottles a year through its food halls and restaurants. And Hawaii has become the first U.S. state to ban plastic bags! This follows Oahu joining the other Hawaiian islands in banning plastic bags from its stores. Although there are some exceptions to the ban, this is a step in the right direction for solving our planet’s plastic waste problem. Up to 13 milllion tonnes of plastic enters our seas each and every year year – entering the food chain, killing marine wildlife and birds, and polluting vast swathes of our oceans.

Motorists should be routinely fined for dumping litter amid claims that many roads are overwhelmed by rubbish, council leaders say. Local authorities should be given the power to levy penalties against car owners when litter is seen being flung from a window — even if it comes from back-seat passengers, it was claimed. The Local Government Association said councils were struggling to cope with the “staggering and spiralling” amount of discarded bottles, drinks cans, crisp packets and cigarette boxes. North hertfordhire recently removed 80 tonnes of litter from an 18 mile sytrech of A roads and In Leicestershire 20 tonnes of litter were found on a 10 mile stretch of the A42. At persent local authorities cannotfine unidentified litter throwers, however pig like, lazy and selfish they are. We need a PIG ISLAND for these people to move to where they can live and fester in their squalor. Drivers who drop litter from their cars should be fined and receive a penalty point on their licence, campaigners have urged. Keep Britain Tidy wants the penalty to apply even to those who drop apple cores and other biodegradable waste.

If Lancashire won’t frack we will, insist Yorkshire residents: The campaign to start a British fracking industry is to shift across the Pennines, with an application to frack in the North York Moors National Park. There are an estimated 1,300 trillion cubic feet of gas in the bowland shale and as local pro-fracking group has been set up to support a move t bring hydraulic fracking to Kirby Misperton. If only 10% of the gas were extracted it would provide Britain’s gas needs for the next 40 years. Ohhhh Yorkshire ….. fracking operations to extract shale gas in Britain could cause nearby house prices to fall by up to 7% and create a risk of environmental damage, according to a government report that has been published in full for the first time. Entitled Shale Gas Rural Economy Impacts, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) draft document was released on Wednesday after a freedom of information battle. As an official assessment of the impact of fracking, albeit in draft form only, the Report warns that leakage of waste fluids could affect human health through polluted water or the consumption of contaminated agricultural products.

Ecuador is planning to auction off three million of the country’s 8.1 million hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies, Jonathan Kaiman of The Guardian reports. The report comes as oil pollution forced neighbouring Peru to declare an environmental state of emergency in its northern Amazon rainforest. Ecuador owed China more than $7 billion — more than a tenth of its GDP — as of last summer. In 2009 China began loaning Ecuador billions of dollars in exchange for oil shipments. It also helped fund two of the country’s biggest hydroelectric infrastructure projects, and China National Petroleum Corp may soon have a 30 per cent stake in a $10 billion oil refinery in Ecuador. More here.

Prince Charles has given his backing to a campaign to discourage investent in fossil fuel companies. In a speech he said that coal, gas and oil cmpanies should not receive taxpaer subsidies and the Keep It In The Ground campaign was ‘clear, compelling and powerfully resonant”. He called for profound changes in the global economy to avoid catastrophic climate change.

BP has agreed to pay $18.7 billlion to settle legal actions brough in the USA over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The envieonmental catastophe had already cost the oil giant $5.5 in fines under the Clean Water Act; the latest settlement came after an action from by the Department of Justice and the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida to cover damages to individuals and business not covered by anm earlier settlement. Judge Carl Barbier had found BP to have been ‘grossly negligent’ in its management of the oil well.

WWF and Unilever have launched a one-year partnership to engage consumers in the fight against deforestation. The partnership between the conservation organisation and the multinational consumer goods firm will seek to raise awareness of the importance of the world’s forests, as well as protect one million trees. The partners will support protection programmes in Brazil and Indonesia, two countries with some of the highest historical rates of deforestation in the world.

Clothing manufacturer Adidas has celebrated its partnership with Parley for the Oceans by creating a prototype shoe made from recycled ocean waste and deep-sea gillnets. The concept shoe, unveiled at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, is the first in a line of ocean-waste products that Adidas plans to release this year. Adidas global brands executive Eric Liedtke said: “This partnership allows us to tap into new areas and create innovative materials and products for our athletes. We invite everyone to join us on this journey to clean up the oceans.”

Peat bogs in the UK are at risk … just so some can shoot birds …….. “They are home to a diverse range of wildlife and up to 8,000 years old. And, according to a damning analysis by an independent government advisory body, the UK’s upland peat bogs are facing a sustained threat from the shooting classes’ desire to bag grouse. The Committee on Climate Change’s 2015 progress report to parliament notes: “Wetland habitats, including the majority of upland areas with carbon-rich peat soils, are in poor condition. The damaging practice of burning peat to increase grouse yields continues, including on internationally protected sites.” Burning creates different heather habitats. Young heather is nutritious while more established heather provides a place for nesting grouse. Creating a patchwork comprising heather of different lengths is a land management tool that experienced gamekeepers can use to increase grouse yields.” More on the Guardian website here.

London Mayor hopeful Sadiq Khan MP, Member of Parliament for Tooting and Shadow Minister for London has released figures showing that London boroughs have routinely breached EU air pollution limits over the last 5 years. Almost all local authorities missed targets set for key air quality measures including levels of Nitrogen Dioxide, linked to asthma and lung damage, and not one of the 32 boroughs meeting ozone objectives. There has been progress in reducing the amountof larger particles, known as PM10, in London’s air. Kahn had previously spoken out against the government’s inaction on air quality. Speaking at the launch of a national campaign against air pollution, Sadiq Khan MP has called for a national framework for Low Emission Zones to enable local authorities to encourage the use cleaner, greener, less-polluting vehicles. Sadiq has also called for greater powers for local authorities to tackle low levels of air quality in their communities.

UK Chancellor George Osborne has brought further uncertainty to green leaders, with an emergency Budget that confirmed more taxes for renewables along with tax-breaks for oil and gas. Delivering his second Budget in four months on Wednesday – the first all-Conservative budget in nearly 20 years – Osborne failed to offer much good news for the low-carbon economy; instead bringing further uncertainty to the sector. Osborne announced that the Government would be changing the Climate Change Levy, which businesses pay on their energy use. The Levy is “outdated”, according to the Chancellor, who said an exemption for renewables in the CCL will be removed.

Low-carbon economic growth can become the new normal and limit the impact of climate change, according to a new report
from the New Climate Economy, part of the Global Commission on the Economy and the Climate. The report identifies ten economic opportunities that could close 96% of the gap between business-as-usual emissions and the level needed to stop dangerous effects of climate change – these include raisding energy efficiency, committing to carbon pricing, investing $1trn in clean energy and restoring forests. The report argues low-carbon and climate-resilient growth is possible, but calls for investment and strong political willpower. Lord Stern, co-chair of the commission, said more and more counties were committed to integrating climate action into their economic plans, suggesting economic growth and emissions reduction could go hand-in-hand. More on edie.net here.

A new study from Harvard University, published in the June edition of the Bulletin of Insectology, puts the nail in the coffin of the clever misinformation spread by the likes of chemicals giants Bayer, BASF and Syngenta about the rapid declines in the world’s bee populations. Neonicotinoids are killing bees at an exponential rate, they are the direct cause of the phenomenon labeled as colony collapse disorder (CCD). Neonicotinoid’s are the world’s most widely used insecticides. “The results from this study not only replicate findings from the previous study, but also reinforce the conclusion that the sublethal exposure to neonicotinoids is likely the main culprit for the occurrence of CCD.” For this study, researchers examined 18 bee colonies at three different apiaries in central Massachusetts over the course of a year. Four colonies at each apiary were regularly treated with realistic doses of neonicotinoid pesticides, while a total of six hives were left untreated. Of the 12 hives treated with the pesticides, six were completely wiped out. Those who make and spread misinformation about these chemicals should be imprisoned.

Revenues from sustainable products or services are growing up to six times faster than ‘normal’ equivalents, according to new research from the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi). The Institute, which provides data-driven information to investors, analysed 12 companies listed in the S&P 100 that sold and tracked ‘sustainable’ products and services. The study found between 2010 and 2013, revenues from these portfolios grew by 91% – around six times faster than the rest of the companies’ products.

The television industry has been in the news with ITV’s Coronation Street winning the Film & TV Award in the Observer’s prestigious Ethical Awards for the lowest possible environmental impact with innovations including “whether that be the art department or recycling old sets [Corrie has achieved an impressive 90% recycling rate for its waste streams] or making sure that new wood is from sustainable resources. We also have an allotment and we’re growing some of our veg on site here, too”, Televisual has highlighted the fact that whilst some shows have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints, the production sector needs to do far more. Solar was used to power the entire shoot of Operation Grand Canyon with Dan Snow while Springwatch ran its unit base and remote camera set ups with energy from renewable generators – but Televisual says despite these success stories, the TV production sector has a poor track record when it comes to the environment and a ‘step change’ in behaviour is needed. Its not all doome and gloom. The BAFTA led ‘Albert’ Consortium have been working hard to reduce the impact of the UK TV industry and their carbon calculator has now logged over 1,000 productions – but says the TV sector needs t be more proactive in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and shrinking film and TV’s carbon footprint. With a new training course in place for 150 executives from film & TV in place and a news website called www.mediagreenhouse.co.uk, the Albert consortium are also launching a major new survey into sustainability and climate change and the challenges they pose for the TV industry. And if you want to know how Anna Karenina saved money with BS8909 – the answer is here

And news from Julie’s Bicycle: Our friends at Julie’s Bicycle and ID&T have created a new carbon calculator tool for indoor events. This new addition to our IG Tools was launched at ID&T’s 40,000 capacity Sensation dance event at Amsterdam Arena last weekend. The Tool enables you to quantify a range of impacts associated with your indoor event, including: energy, water, waste and travel. You can graphically analyse results to help inform action and easily export your results too. It’s available now and free to use at www.ig-tools.com. Julie’s Bicycle CEO Alison Tickell said “When one of the biggest dance promoters in the world is getting passionate about carbon we know that change is coming. Getting to grips with actual environmental impacts is a huge step forward; the new IG Tool will help not just ID&T but promoters all over the world to step up to the climate challenge.” Carlijn Lindemulder, Head of Sustainability at ID&T added ““It was a long time wish for us to be able to measure the environmental impacts of our indoor events. Working with Julie Bicycle on this exciting new tool gives Sensation the possibility to understands its environmental impacts, and design effective strategies to reduce them.”

Take the Green Train was a seminar on environmental sustainability in music and jazz held at the Gateshead International Jazz Festival at the Sage Gateshead in April 2015, featuring guest speakers, case studies, green touring top tips, and ideas for future trajectories for the EJN membership on environmental sustainability. We want to make sure the learning and outcomes of the day are shared as widely as possible among the network, so have produced the following event report which summarises the various presentations and discussions from the day. Download the report here.

And finally from Julie’s Bicycle: Have a listen to the first edition of the EE MUSIC Mixtape Series, where artists from Elevate Festival have been exploring energy and the environment in a series of exclusive mixes. In Part 1, Mixmaster Morris has intertwined samples and songs combining everything from Onethrix Point Never, Louis Armstrong to visions of a sustainable energy future.

YOKO ONO for her activism over half a century, most of which is indivisible from her art. “Think of the “Bed-In” that she and John Lennon staged in Amsterdam in 1969, or the billboard posters that announced: “War Is Over! If You Want It” the same year and her “Wish Trees”, an ongoing work started in 1981 where members of the public are encouraged to write their deepest wishes on labels and hang them from a tree.”

Campaigner of the year
“We are looking for someone who’s put ethical issues on the agenda, from environmental issues to civil rights and beyond”. WINNER: EMMA WATSON forthe HeForShe campaign, which calls for a million men to sign up for gender equality

Green Briton of the year
“We’re on a mission to find and honour the most active, resourceful and successful Green Briton”. WINNER: ANNA WATSON for her ‘Run on Sun’ campaign to get solar panels into schools.

Best ethical product of the decade
“It is time to reward the retailer, designer, brand or shop that made it easier for you to live more ethically”. WINNER: RIVERFORD for the company’s Organic Veg Box delivery scheme.

Arts and culture

“Whether it’s small or large, local or national, nominate your favourite to win our arts and culture award”. WINNER: FESTIVAL OF THRIFT – the festival at Lingfield Point which celebates thrift and frugal living.

The sustainable style award
“We want you to design a ethical outfit for our judge, Livia Firth, queen of the ‘green carpet’. Whether it’s an ethical twist on a trend or a refashioned classic made from innovative green materials”. WINNER: NUDIE JEANS. “If you buy their jeans, they’ll repair them for you. If you’re bored of their jeans, hand them into a store and you get a 20% discount off your next pair and Nudie recycles the denim.”

Ecover young green champion
“We want to hear all about your brilliant ideas on how you are making or want to make your school, community or even the world a better place to be”. WINNER: ANDOVER TREES UNITED. More than 25 Andover schools are currently involved in the scheme, with children ranging from primary to sixth-form level all inspired to to plant more trees. Runners-up: @MiniHorts; Funnelling 4 Fuel.

The ethical wildlife award
We want to track down those of you helping preserve UK wildlife. WINNER: WORLD ANIMAL PROTECTION. World Animal Protection is a global organisation dedicated to combating animal cruelty which part funded the Wildlife Crime Unit (WCU) of the Metropolitan Police

The ethical wildlife award.

WINNER: THE FRIENDS OF TOWER HAMLETS CEMETERY PARK: “when you come here you forget all that. The dominant sounds become the birds, the wind through the trees. You don’t smell the concrete.”

Community energy project
“We’re casting our net for energy projects of schemes powered and designed by communities”. WINNER: PLYMOUTH ENERGY COMMUNITY. The Community Energy Project Award, in partnership with National Grid, has made great strides creating a greener city and reducing residents’ bills

Film and television
“We want to award those leading the way in the revolution in the entertainment industry to lessen it’s impact on the planet”. WINNER; CORONATION STREET. ” “whether that be the art department or recycling old sets [Corrie has achieved an impressive 90% recycling rate for its waste streams] or making sure that new wood is from sustainable resources. We also have an allotment and we’re growing some of our veg on site here, too.” Runners-up: Springwatch; Terminally Happy.

]]>http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/observer-ethical-awards-2015-the-winners/feed/1Solar Flight Makes History after 5,000 mile journeyhttp://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/solar-flight-makes-history-after-5000-mile-journey/
http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2015/07/solar-flight-makes-history-after-5000-mile-journey/#commentsSat, 04 Jul 2015 14:51:26 +0000http://www.agreenerfestival.com/?p=19358Solar Impulse 2, the aeroplane that is powered only by the sun, has landed in Hawaii after making a historic 7,200km flight across the Pacific from Japan. Pilot Andre Borschberg brought the vehicle gently down on to the runway of Kalaeloa Airport at 05:55 local time. The distance covered and the time spent in the air – 118 hours – are records for manned, solar-powered flight. The duration is also an absolute record for a solo, un-refuelled journey. Mr Borschberg’s time betters that of the American adventurer Steve Fossett who spent 76 hours aloft in a single-seater jet in 2006. Despite being in the cockpit for so long, the Swiss pilot told the BBC that he did not feel that tired: “Interestingly, not really.

“I am also astonished. We got so much support during the flight from so many people; it gave me so much energy.” He said he looked forward to having a shower and visiting one of the many steakhouses suggested to him on the way into Hawaii’s O’ahu island. “We have some work to do, and to meet people, because I am sure a lot of people will want to see the aeroplane and discuss its technologies. But there is no way we shouldn’t try some surfing” he joked.

Saving power is key to the journey’s success, as the plane must reach heights of 9,000 metres during the day so that it can glide through the night. At top speed, it reaches 87mph. The plane is powered entirely by the 17,248 solar panels on its wings.

Bertrand Piccard. who is sharing flying duties in the quest to circumnavigate the globe will now fly the next leg from Hawaii to Phoenix, Arizona, a trip likely to take four days and nights. From Phoenix, Solar Impulse will head for New York and an Atlantic crossing that would eventually see the plane return to Abu Dhabi.

This article was submitted and written by BETH KELLY and the opinions and statements expressed in this article are Beth’s and are not necessarily those of A Greener Festival.

Under the Dome, a Chinese documentary produced by ex-CCTV broadcaster Chai Jing, captured the attention of 100 million viewers in just 24 hours. It awakened Chinese citizens to the inbred pollution and toothless government enforcement rampant across the country, a pollution problem that entombed Shijiazhuang and Beijing and Lanzhou under toxic clouds and rendered 62 percent of all rivers in Shanxi unusable. But after two weeks, the Beijing Internet Management Office instructed all webmasters to delete the documentary and erase any associated content. The Internet Management Office, read the memo, would check for compliance in five minutes.

Some believe it is all a hoax. User “Tsingwun,” commenting on Steven Mufson’s Washington Post article about the documentary, said, “it’s funny how so few people in western media question the hidden agendas behind this documentary.” All CCTV journalists are vetted and regularly monitored, he argued. The film was released just prior to the National People’s Congress, and more than 200 million Chinese citizens viewed the online video before it was blocked by “The Great Firewall,” and even Communist party mouthpieces like People’s Daily ran dedicated features about the film, and what Chinese news anchor has USD $160,000 to pay out-of-pocket for a documentary, anyway?

Of course, Jing’s motivation cannot be diced and put under a microscope. She claimed as inspiration her baby girl, burdened with tumors, who spent the first half of 2014 hiding from Beijing’s gray-green air in a stuffy apartment. In the film, Jing aimed to answer questions she knew were as important to her daughter as they were to all the people of China:

What is smog? （雾霾是什么? – wù mái shì shén me）

Where does it come from? （它从哪里来? – tā cóng nǎ lǐ lái)

What can we do? (我们怎么办? – wǒ men zěn me bàn)

Some critics wondered, however, if the Chinese Communist Party only used the documentary as tinder for the National People’s Congress, a puppet parliament followed by an orchestrated press conference where, as one ABC news correspondent said, “It is not unusual to have been sitting there for 40 minutes and there to have been only two questions asked.”

One of those questions, an inquiry from a Huffington Post reporter, referenced Under the Dome. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang responded to the question, and although he did not reference the massive state-owned enterprises responsible for so much of the country’s pollution, nor did he mention other indicting portions of the documentary, he did say, “We need to make businesses that illicitly emit and dump pay a price too heavy to bear. We must ensure that the enforcement of the environmental protection law is not a stick of cotton candy but a powerful mace.”

In the past, pollution has been kicked to the kennel in favor of economic development. “First development, then environment,” was the party chant. But one billion people cannot ignore the earth without consequence for long. China burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. Greenpeace argues that only two percent of China’s forests remain intact ecosystems, and in one telling moment in Under the Dome, a six-year-old girl, a resident of Beijing, tells Jing that she has never seen a star.

Pollution in China is so pervasive that it isn’t just a “Chinese” problem. Periodic dust bowl clouds and smog hazes send residents of Seoul, South Korea scurrying for their homes. Experts estimate that up to one-fourth of all sulfate atmospheric pollution in the United States is due to polluted Chinese air drifting across the Pacific Ocean. While many American energy providers now offer “green” energy options – obtaining electrical power from renewables rather than carbon-based sources – making the move to 100% clean power is still a remarkably daunting prospect. According to a Direct Energy Ohio reference, over 60% of our electrical power is still sourced from natural gas and other fossil fuels. Our economic ties with the China have additional implications; approximately four percent of all Chinese pollution is associated with the production of exports destined for U.S. shores.

It is not, as Chinese Premier Li would have it, the responsibility of a few to atone for the avarice of all. If China is to escape its pollution, it must do as Chai Jing asked: Stand up. All of you – of us – stand up. Say no. Because “history is created,” said Jing, “when individuals stand up to take action.”